Paper Tiger
by Miss Delirium
Summary: Alice has a fight with Blood and decides he's gone one threat too far. On her way to end their broken relationship she runs into Peter who surprisingly lends an ear. Her sudden friendship with him results in a very angry Hatter.
1. Chapter 1

**I've developed a bit of a fondness for this comic series (and I was bitterly disappointed she ended up with Blood...) I've only read the comic online so if there are any errors don't hesitate to tell me. The title is based off a song I was listening to when I came up with the idea - Treat's Paper Tiger. The song has zero to do with Alice, but I will be adding a reference to it later on =P**

**Plus Peter doesn't get enough love! **

**Disclaimer - I own nothing!  
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><p>Alice bolted through the gates of the Hatter's Mansion, pounding her way up the path trying to get as far away from the place as possible. Her feet pounded along the soil, the sounds of the twin's voices just mere background noise.<p>

"Onee-San! Onee-San!"

_Don't cry until you reach the Clock Tower_ She told herself. _Don't cry until you reach the Clock Tower..._

Tears threatened to burst from her eyes, clouding her vision, the moonlight bouncing around disorienting her. Rain was coming down heavily, soaking her hair and running down her face. She rubbed at her eyes with a wet hand to clear her vision. The Clock Tower was just ahead of her now, familiar and welcoming. Her lungs felt like they were going to explode in her chest, but she ignored their protests, desperate to cover the last stretch between herself and safety. She burst through the door and darted up the spiral stair case, the front door slamming shut behind her. She didn't aknowledge the odd echo of her footsteps, or the concerned voice following her. She threw herself through her bedroom door and landed face down on her bed, finally letting the tears flow freely.

"... lice! Alice!"

She looked up briefly and spotted Julius beside her, concern washing all over his face.

"Why are you crying?" He asked her.

She couldn't form words, she just burried her face into her pillow. Tears soaking through the soft cotton. She heard Julius pull up a chair and sit beside her.

"It's night out, Alice. You shouldn't be out at night."

She said nothing. He was right, but there was no way she was staying there. She heard Julius move around the room and open one of the closets. He returned to her bedside.

"Here."

She looked up at him to see him holding out a soft blue towel. She took it from him gratefully and dried her face.

"What happened?"

Reluctantly, Alice rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She had to tell someone, she couldn't keep it bottled up. And Julius was here, he has ears... good enough.

"Blood," She said, not taking her eyes off the insect crawling its way across the ceiling.

Julius sighed. "What about Blood?"

"He's a prick." The bluntness of her answer made Julius almost jump out of his chair.

"Well..."

"Paranoid."

Julius just stared at her, still unaware how to comfort a crying girl.

"We had a fight," She told him. "He thinks I'm having an affair with the whole of Wonderland. He called me every name under the sun... and some others I'd not even heard of before... then threatened me."

"Threatened you?"  
>"You know, threatened to kill me."<p>

Julius stood up. "Okay. Threatening to kill you... I'll march right over there and kill him myself."

Alice sat bolt upright and smacked the Clock Maker over the head with her pillow. "Don't be ridiculous! Killing isn't the answer!"

"Well he clearly thinks it is! Just like a Mafia Boss..."

"It really is the answer, Alice."

Both of them looked at the door. Ace was standing there, a huge smile pasted on his face.

"How long have you been stood there?" She asked him.

"Long enough." He jingled a blood soaked bag at Julius. "I got them."

"It took you two days..." Julius growled.

"Yeh well..." Ace smiled and scratched his head. "I got a little lost..."

Julius took the bag from him and sighed.

"So Alice," Ace turned to face the girl and his eyes traced her face, taking in the severity of the situation. "A fight with Blood Dupre?"

She nodded and sighed. Now the whole of Wonderland would find out, courtesy of Ace – the gossip.

"Been going on a while I guess?" He beamed.

She fell back onto her bed, covering her face with the pillow. "Really Ace, I don't want to talk about it."

"It sounds to me you need to put an end to your little problem," He flicked his sword into the air, catching it skillfully.

Alice however didn't see his little act. But his words made a very strong point. Shocking... Ace was right...


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter's a lot longer than the last one! Whew _ it was a lot of fun to write. I'm worried I'm OOC with Alice however. Hmm... this may be an excuse to read the manga again...**

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><p>Morning came too quickly. The odd time changes here were clearly against her. She didn't even see dawn. Drawing herself reluctantly from her bed, she changed out of last night's dress which was still damp from the rain into something dry and comfortable. She settled for another of her blue dresses and looked in the mirror.<p>

"Ew..."

Her makeup had ran, and her hair was a mess. She quickly sorted herself out so that anyone to look at her wouldn't know she'd had a distressing night and made her way down stairs.

"Morning Alice."

"Were you up all night?" She asked the Clock Maker.

"Of course," He told her. "Ace's late delivery was a priority. I'm behind." He looked up at her as she made her way to the door. "Breakfast, Alice."

"I'm not hungry..." She told him.

"Are you going to see Blood?"  
>"I have to," She sighed, her hand resting on the doorknob. "He can't treat me like that, can he?"<p>

Julius shook his head and went back to his work.

She opened the door.

"Be careful, Alice."  
>"I will..." She closed the door and made her way towards the Hatter's Mansion.<p>

Fear swelled in her stomach with each step she took. Even the familiar path she had walked every day for the past year seemed daunting. Even the trees seemed to be mocking her. And she was sure the flowers were throwing insults at her. And if she wasn't mistakened, she was sure she was being followed...

"Alice!"

She hit the floor with such force the wind flew out of her, crushed under the weight of a full grown man.

"Alice! I've missed you so much!"

_Urgh..._

"Get OFF me!"

Her assailant released her and she jumped up and leered at him.

"Peter!"

The White Rabbit just smiled at her.

"I haven't seen you in ages!"

"I know," Alice growled. "It was getting too good to be true..."

"Are you off to see Blood?" He asked, his smile fading.

Alice nodded, and glanced nervously down the path.

"You see him every day Alice, you should come to the Palace. We miss you!"

"I... really do need to see him." She looked back at Peter who was watching her with hopeful ruby eyes. She glanced back down the path again... daunting... scary...

The way she saw it, she had two choices. Face Blood and his murderous wrath and have the dreaded talk with him, or go and spend the day with Peter White and endure his annoying obsessive ways. She looked back at the Prime Minister who smiled at her hopefully.

Alice growled, "Oh you really _are_ the lesser of two evils..."

Peter practically jumped into the air. "Oh YAY! And I didn't even need to use my cute rabbit form, we really are making progress." He took her hand to lead her away to the Palace.

She snatched her hand away.

"Listen... if I am going to tolerate you for the day, I have to lay some ground rules. I am NOT your girlfriend, we are NOT on a date, you do NOT touch me, and you do NOT try to kiss me. Or I will leave straight away. Okay?"

Peter smiled and nodded. "Whatever Alice wants Alice gets!"

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><p>They walked in silence... well Alice was silent. She was very grateful she had managed to develop a way to tune the annoying rabbit out. He skipped along joyously beside her. The Palace didn't seem to be getting any closer. She sighed.<p>

Peter looked at her and went silent. The silence actually snapped Alice out of her mental sanctuary, shattering the Anti-Peter walls she had built up.

"Are you okay, Alice?"

"What?" She looked at him briefly before turning her attention back to the Palace mocking her from its position far away.

"You seem... out of sorts."

"It's nothing," She lied. There was no way she was confiding in Peter White about this.

Peter didn't seem convinced. "I can tell by your frown that you're feeling down."

She stifled a groan and shook her head. "Really it's nothing."

Peter sighed and stopped in his tracks, watching her. She looked back at him.

"Is there a problem?"

He smiled and skipped up beside her. "I know somewhere better."

Alice gave him a warning look. "If you suggest the Amusement Park..."  
>"No no, somewhere better! Come! Follow me!"<p>

He skipped off the side of the path towards the trees. Alice reluctantly followed him. Was this really better than facing Blood?

As she reached the other side of the trees, Peter was stood waiting for her on the edge of a very beautiful garden. She looked out over the short trimmed grass and colorful flower beds and surrounding the garden were dainty trees.

"In spring this place is breathtaking," He told her.

"Where is this?" She asked, not taking her eyes off the garden.

"It's at the side of the Palace. It's one of the Queen's gardens. I come here when I need a bit of peace and quiet."

He led her down towards the garden and took a seat beneath one of the trees. Alice sat at his side sheltered by the tree's branches. She hadn't realised how sunny it was. This garden seemed to ampify it somehow, taking away all her previous fears and replacing them with contentment and happiness.

"Well... I have to hand it to you Peter," Alice said, looking at him. "This place is really something."  
>He beamed. "I knew you'd like it Alice!"<p>

They sat in silence for a while, the sun slowly moving across the sky. Butterflies danced around the flowers, giving them little kisses as they passed by them. Alice watched, entranced by the vivid colors, thinking back to all the sunny sundays she spent sleeping in the garden back home.

Before all this happened...

"Are you feeling any better, Alice?"

She looked round at Peter. He was fixing her with an expression filled with genuine concern. Who was she kidding? He clearly knew there was something wrong. For starters, she'd bailed on going to visit Blood – her boyfriend – to spend the day with a guy she can't stand. Secondly she mustn't look all that happy.

"I am a bit, yes." She sat back on her hands, staring back over the garden. In the distance she could see one of the Palace gates.

"Did something happen?"

She looked back at Peter. He was staring blankly into the distance.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... you decided not to visit Blood." He looked at her. "Did something happen?"

_Wow, Ace didn't blab._

"You know you can tell me anything," He told her. "I love you, Alice."

Alice sighed and shook her head. "I can't."

"Try me."

Alice put her head in her hands, letting out a frustrated groan. There was something calming about this garden. Something that made her _want_ to confide in Peter. Or was it really just the garden? He seemed different somehow. Since they arrived here. And he had conformed to her 'ground rules' for once.

She looked up at him. He was watching a butterfly that had decided to dance around them instead of the flowers. She couldn't help but find the scene endearing.

"We had a fight."

He snapped his attention to her, shock filling his eyes.

"He seems to think I'm sleeping around with every man in Wonderland."

"Well you're not," Peter said bluntly, watching the butterfly again.

"I know I'm not. I told him I have friends, and I love my friends in a purely platonic sense. He doesn't like me living with Julius at all either. And he seems to have this fixation I'm only with him because he looks like my ex. He keeps telling me I'm hung up on him, wanting to turn Blood into the perfect clone." She sighed, "I retaliated, told him he was the one with the hang ups. He was clearly hung up on my past and should let it go. I told him he was paranoid." She paused glancing over at Peter who was staring into space. "Then he pointed his gun at me."

Peter stood up, his hand going to his clock, murderous fury filling his scarlet eyes. "No one threatens Alice."

He turned to leave the garden. Alice reached up and grabbed his hand. "No."

He looked down at her. "But he threatened you, Alice. I can't have that."

"You aren't killing him, it's not the answer!"

"He wouldn't have thought twice about killing _you._"

"Just sit down, Peter."

The White Rabbit took his seat back next to Alice. "He's a fool."

Alice nodded. "I wish I hadn't told you." She looked at him. "Promise me you won't try to kill him."

"I won't _try_."

"And you'll leave him alone?"

Peter sighed. "Whatever Alice wants Alice gets."

"Thank you." She looked back out over the garden. The sun was directly above them now, signalling noon. The warmth was making her drowsy. She realised once again how short the night had been.

"I didn't sleep much last night."

"Are you tired?"  
>"Quite," She yawned.<p>

Peter nodded. "You deserve better, Alice."

She didn't reply, but she knew he was right. Sleep was washing over her. She wondered if she even got any sleep at all last night...

"I'm glad I stopped you going to see him now... who knows what he would have done?"

She barely heard him. She didn't even notice she was resting against his shoulder, the sound of his clockwork heart ticking in her ear. It sped up a moment as he looked down at her. Sleep consumed her, his voice barely a whisper in her mind.

"Rest well... Alice."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 is here! You know when you're thinking over what to put in a chapter, and you think "That's not going to make it long enough!" Well... _ it certainly did! **

**Thank you all for reviewing and faving! That has never happened on one of my fanfics before, thank you all, you lovely people! It certainly made me WANT to get this chapter up as fast as I could! **

**I didn't get time to proof read this chapter before uploading though, so sorry for any mistakes. I kind of have to rush today. Chapter 4 will be up as soon as possible! I'm still formulating ideas. Enjoy this update! xx  
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><p>When Alice opened her eyes again, she was greeted with a magnificent orange sky splattered with dramatic red and yellow clouds. The garden was lit with gentle light, the flowers dancing sleepily. She sat up and looked around her. Peter was smiling at her, looking as though he'd just been asleep himself.<p>

"Feeling better?"

She raised a hand to her chest, suddenly very aware she'd been using the Prime Minister as a pillow. She wasn't sure whether to be annoyed, disgusted or embarrassed.

Though at least that meant he wouldn't have ran off and gone on a suicidal mission to kill a certain Mafia Boss...

She relaxed and looked back out over the garden.

"It looks really nice at sunset," She told him. "But I should be getting home. Before Julius starts to worry."

"Why would Julius worry?" Peter asked her. "Does he know?"

"Of course." She stood up and looked down at the White Rabbit. "... Thankyou. For you know... being there." She made to leave the garden, but felt a hand grasp hers.

"Wait."

She looked back at him, snatching her hand away.

"Rather than let you freely roam, I'd like to see you safely home." He beamed at her.

Alice looked away. Considering current circumstances it wouldn't be a _bad_ idea if she let him escort her home. She met his eyes briefly then nodded.

They walked in silence, Alice enjoying the peacefulness of the sunset, Peter most likely enjoying the fact he was in her presence. She'd never spent this much time around him before, and she couldn't deny the fact she felt safe around him. Unlike the time she spent with Blood – always on edge in case he ever pulled his gun out at her. She was snapped out of her momentary daydream, suddenly aware Peter was looking at her. Was he reading her thoughts?

"Alice... can I ask you something?"

"If you must."  
>He paused, as though choosing his words carefully. "Has Blood ever threatened you before?"<p>

She didn't answer. She worried if she told him the truth, he'd race right over there and cause mayhem. Not one resident of Wonderland had any consideration for life – be it their own or others. She'd talked Boris out of being so reckless, but he still snuck into the Castle grounds. The only person who seemed as frustrated as she did about people getting themselves killed willy-nilly was Julius, but that was for different reasons.

"Your lack of an answer worries me..."

Her attention snapped back to Peter. "You don't _need _to worry."

They'd reached the Clock Tower now, and Alice approached the door. She looked back at Peter. "Well here I am."

He smiled at her. "Can I-."

"No."

He swiftly transformed into his 'cute bunny form' and gave her the biggest puppy eyes he could manage. Alice almost laughed.

"Sorry Peter," She told him. "I just want to be alone..."

He sighed and took on his human shape. "I understand."  
>She masked her surprise at his response by opening the door. "Goodnight Peter... and thankyou... for everything."<p>

"You're welcome Alice... Goodnight."

She closed the door behind her and leant against it, her mind running over the events of the day. Shaking her head sharply to clear the fog in her mind, she made her way up to bed, where the comfort of the garden washed off her to make way for the daunting realization that she really _really_ needed to talk to Blood...

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><p>When morning arrived, Alice was feeling much more refreshed. She stretched languidly and yawned, mulling over what to do with her day. She hadn't seen Boris in a while...<p>

She sank back into her pillow as her mind drifted to Blood. She let out a despairing groan as she flipped herself from her bed and into a fresh dress. The Mansion it was then...

She slumped down the stairs and quickly made herself some toast for the road. She put a plate of buttered toast infront of Julius who – she noticed – had fallen asleep over his work, propped up on one hand. She rolled her eyes and left the Clock Tower, heading straight for the Mansion. No distractions this time. Do it Alice.

She recited what she was going to say to him over and over in her mind until it sounded perfect. She felt she was doing well – no nerves, no awful fluttery feeling in her stomach. Then she saw the gates and her breakfast decided it would have a much better time if it got out. She stepped cautiously up to the gates, reached out a shaking hand -

"Boss is out."

"Yep, out on business."

Alice spun around and was greeted by the two smiling faces of the Tweedle Twins, accompanied by their ever faithful matching halberds.

"Business? Where?"

"The Amusement Park!"

"Gone to see Gowland."

Alice sighed. "Did he say when he'd be back?"

"Gone all day!"

"All day. Took Elliot with him."

"He told us we had to guard the Mansion!"

"But we wanted to play!"

Alice sighed again. "Well I guess I'll have to go to the Amusement Park."

"No don't!"

"Onee-San! Play with us!"

She looked back at the twins, taking in their sad little faces. "I'm sorry Dee and Dum. I really need to talk to Blood."

"But you play with him all the time!"

"We miss you, Onee-san!"

It was too much. She caved. "Fine. I'll play, but only for a little while."

The twins cheered, waving their halberds in the air.

"We'll play Deathmatch!"

"Onee-san can keep score!"

They threw a notebook at Alice, which she caught in an attempt to sheild her head. She often wondered if the twins wanted to kill her for fun.

"What do you mean 'keep score'?" She asked them.

"Keep score!"

"Five points for a shoulder, three for a leg."

"Ten for a head!"

"Fifteen for a fatal wound!"

"We'll go first! Ready brother?"

"You bet brother!"

With that, they started hacking away at each other with their halberds. One would dodge out of the way of the other then swing at his brother. Alice watched in pure horror as each one narrowly avoided amputation of a limb.

"Ow! You got me there!" One of them laughed.

"That's five points for me then!" The other laughed.

It was utter chaos, both of them diving around, tears in their uniforms, fresh wounds. She had to stop it.

"Dee! Dum!"

They appeared to not hear her.

"Oi! Stop this!"

They halted and turned to face her.

"What's wrong Onee-san?"

"Do you want to play?"

"No I _don't _want to play!" She dropped the notebook on the floor. "It's ridiculous! One of you is going to get killed at this rate!"

"It doesn't matter, Onee-san."

"There are replacements!"

Alice sighed and slumped to the floor. "You don't understand do you? Come here, sit with me."

The twins skipped over to Alice and sat down next to her, one on either side. She tore a piece of paper from the notebook and started folding it unconsciously as she spoke to them.

"It's different where I come from," Alice told them. "We don't have 'replacements'. It's a silly idea. You might think you can be replaced, but _you _can't."

"But we can!"

"It's easy, they just fix our clocks!"

Alice shook her head. "That might be so, but they won't be Dee or Dum."

The twins exchanged glances.

"I won't ever see Dee or Dum again, and that makes me sad."

"It makes us sad too!"

"Very sad!"

"Where I am from, life is fragile." Alice told them. She held up the paper she'd been playing with. She'd folded it into a little tiger. "See this? We have tigers in my world. Pushed to almost extinction because – like you and like myself – their life is fragile. It can be taken so easily. And if I were to crush this little paper tiger now, then straighten it out again, it would never look the same. It might _be _the same, but it's not a perfect example of what it once was. It's not the same tiger."

The twins exchanged glances again.

"She's right! I wouldn't be the same Dee brother!"

"And I wouldn't be the same Dum!"

They both looked up at her.

"Okay! I'll be more careful!"

"Me too! I don't want to upset Onee-san!"

Alice smiled at them. Progress.

"We'll still fight but we'll be more careful!"

"No fatal wounds!"

She sighed and popped the tiger into her dress pocket. At least they would _try_ to not get themselves killed.

"Okay Tweedles, I have to go and see Blood now. You two behave."

They saluted with their halberds and went back to their ridiculous game.

Alice left the mansion and headed for the theme park, her mind reeling with chaos. The twins had listened to her, but would it be so easy talking to Blood? He clearly had no respect for life, and he'd probably kill her without hesitating. She ran over what she would say to him again, trying to find any point in her little speech that might swing him towards murder. She didn't know what she was thinking, dating a Mafia Boss. It was always a risk to be with someone so dangerous. While her mind was occupied she hadn't realized she'd gone the wrong way.

_Oh, I've clearly been spending too much time with Ace._

She looked around her. The garden? Her eyes flew to the tree she had been sat under the day before. It was empty, and she felt her heart sink a little. She shook her head and turned away to make her way back to the Clock Tower. _To end up here? What was I thinking..._


	4. Chapter 4

**I spent a lot of time at work today thinking up how on earth I could write this chapter, and as per normal my mind just kept leaping back to the finale of the story. So, after much thought, all I thought was "Theme park!" (Let's face it, there is only so much inspiration one can derive from staring at a can of lentil soup.) Boris has to be one of my favorite characters, and having grown up living with cats I had a few ideas for him. So here it is.**

**I think if I lived in this version of Wonderland, I'd spend a lot of time at the Amusement Park. However, in my mind this is where my story starts to unfold. So enjoy this rather long installment! =D**

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><p>Morning came too quickly this time. Alice couldn't decide if it was to do with the odd time changes in Wonderland, or if she had just not slept well. She glanced around her room. Yesterday's dress was slung over the chair next to her bed – still there from when Julius had tried to comfort her. Her laundry basket clearly needed emptying, wardrobe doors were wide open. She climbed out of bed and sorted her wardrobe out as she selected another dress. She wasn't normally <em>this<em> disorganized. With one last glance at the over flowing laundry basket, she headed downstairs telling herself she would sort it when she got back. Now would be the day she definitely spoke to Blood.

"Morning," Julius greeted her, sipping a cup of coffee.

"Morning." Alice prepared herself and Julius some breakfast. She'd regained some of her appetite and whipped up bacon on toast.

"Are you able to run an errand for me today?" Julius asked her.

Alice looked up at him. "Oh... I've not spoken to Blood yet. That was my plan today to be honest."

Julius raised an eyebrow. "I thought you went to see him two days ago."

"Yes well... things didn't go quite as planned..."

"Ah." Julius sipped his coffee. "I'll ask Ace to do it then."

"Well... what do you need?" She asked him, placing his breakfast down on the table.

"I just need some more parts."

"I can pick those up." She sat down at the table, tucking into her breakfast.

"Will you get chance?"

"Sure," She nodded. "I don't imagine I'll be that long."

"So long as I have them for tomorrow."

Alice nodded her understanding and swiftly finished her breakfast. She bade Julius farewell and left the Clock Tower deciding her first stop should be the clock shop. She wasn't that far up the road until she spotted a familiar pink haired gentleman stalking a rather frightened mouse boy.

"Boris!"

The Cheshire Cat looked up at her and smiled. "Alice!"

Pierce promptly darted down the nearest side street and out of sight. Boris didn't even seem to notice. He bounded over to Alice and let out a very happy purr.

"I haven't seen you in ages, Alice! You really must come to the Amusement Park!"

"I'm very busy Boris," Alice told him. "I have to run an errand for Julius, then I have to visit Blood."

Boris inclined his head on one side. "Please?"

Alice sighed. After the past couple of days she could use a bit of fun. She didn't have to stay long...

"Fine. But only for an hour or so."

Boris beamed at her. "Thank you Alice! There is this new ride I really want to try, and you can join me!"

They walked to the Amusement Park together, Boris checking the bushes around him, now aware that Pierce had escaped. He kept muttering "Where is that mouse?" While chatting to Alice about the newest ride.

"It's wonderful Alice! You sit in this hot dog and fly down these tubes full of water!"

"Have you ever been on it?"

"Not yet no. Today will be my first time! It only opened yesterday, but I never got chance to try it."

"Why not?"

"I was busy chasing my mouse." Another check at the bushes.

_Poor Pierce_. "Well, I'll try it with you. It does sound like fun. I used to love log flumes back in my own world, and I did think the Amusement Park here was lacking one."

"It's attracting a lot of business today. So it's quite busy."

"I heard Blood was at the Amusement Park yesterday."

"He was on business, but even he checked out the new ride."

Alice rolled her eyes. She rarely saw Blood's fun side outside of the mansion. She couldn't imagine him checking out theme park rides.

Boris bounced up and down on the spot when they reached the gates and took her hand, dragging her in after him. He made a beeline straight for the new water ride. The queue was phenomenal, but Boris flashed a priority pass and they went to the front of the queue. He was practically bristling with excitement, his ears twitching as he waited for the boat to arrive.

The boat finally arrived, letting off four very soggy looking passengers. Boris paid no attention to them, he leapt in the boat taking the front seat, Alice seating herself behind him. Two more people joined them, a young couple. Alice couldn't wait for the ride to start. She could already feel the adrenaline rising in her body. The boat moved slowly along, rising up the first hill causing that inevitable feeling of dread. Boris was clearly excited. He loved roller coasters and was bouncing up and down in his seat.

As it reached the top, it teetered for a moment before shooting down a tunnel full of water. Alice screamed, wondering if she'd left her stomach behind. It was only a small drop though, and the little boat shimmied along its track towards the next hill. This one was quite small too. Alice hadn't had much chance to check out the ride before she was dragged onto it and she wondered if it even had a massive drop like the log flumes she knew at home. Then she saw it, looming in the distance. The biggest drop she'd ever seen on one of these rides. It wasn't long before the boat was being dragged up this hill. Boris looked back at her.

"I can't wait! This one is going to be awesome!"

Alice grinned at him.

The anticipation was becoming too much. She had no idea how far this fall was going to be. She looked down at all the people looking up at her, watching them as they grew smaller and smaller. Then the boat hovered on the edge of the drop, giving her a nice look down into the watery depths below. The tunnel was lit with tiny blue lights making the water look like ink. The boat shot down it, taking her breath away. She screamed. They all screamed. She thought she was going to leave her seat. She clung onto Boris who was cheering now, his arms in the air.

Then they hit the bottom.

Water sprayed into the boat like a small tidal wave, drenching them all.

Boris screamed and dived out of the boat, desperate to get off the ride.

"Boris!" Alice reached out the flailing cat who had landed in the water. She couldn't reach him.

He fixed wild eyes on hers. "I can't swim!"

Alice sighed and dived in after him. Or so she thought.

She stood there, up to her waist in water, looking down at the flailing cat-man.

"Boris."

He looked up at her.

"Stand up."

He stopped flailing and realization dawned on his frantic face. He looked around at all the eyes fixed on him. A red flush came to his cheeks.

"Oh..."

Alice shook her head and pushed him towards the fence.

One of the park maintenance men helped them over the edge of the fence. Alice thanked him and turned to Boris.

"Should we get an ice cream and dry off?"

"Sounds like a great idea," Boris beamed at her. He led her towards the nearest ice cream vendor. "You know what, Alice? I liked that ride."

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><p>Alice sat at a bench with Boris happily enjoying her ice cream. She watched the guests go about their day, laughing, playing, staring blankly at park maps. She felt almost carefree in this place, forgetting her worries. She then remembered Blood and snapped back to reality. She turned to Boris and her words caught in her throat. The cheeky cat had managed to obtain a ball of wool from somewhere and was unwinding it.<p>

"Boris..." She snatched the wool from him and hurriedly wound it up, glancing around to see who he could have pinched it off. "Where did you get that?"

Boris glanced around at the benches and shrugged.

Seeing no one she crammed it into her dress pocket out of harm's way.

"I really need to visit Blood now."

Boris fixed a pair of sad yellow eyes on hers. "So soon?"

She nodded and stood up. "Thank you for showing me that ride."

"Alice!"

She cringed at the voice, bracing herself for the collision that was sure to come. Sure enough, two strong arms wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her backwards into a tight embrace.

"Alice! I can't believe you're here!"

"... neither can I." She wriggled out of Peter's grip and turned to face him. "What did I say about touching me?"

"That was for the other day, not a rule that has to stay."

Alice glared at him. "Well I'm putting it back in force."

Peter just smiled at her. "Would you ride the roller coaster with me?"

Alice sighed. "I really have to visit Blood, Peter."

The White Rabbit raised an eyebrow. "You haven't spoken to him yet?"

She shook her head.

"Procrastinating! Well while you're here," He offered his hand and nodded towards the roller coaster in question.

She sighed again. She was enjoying herself, and didn't want to rush off quite so soon. She looked up at the sky. It wasn't even noon yet, however the position of the sun didn't matter in Wonderland as it could become midnight at any second. However, old habits die hard.

"Okay fine. Boris are you joining us?"

Peter cast the Cheshire Cat a disapproving glance, but said nothing as they made their way towards the roller coaster.

Since everyone was more exited about the log flume, the queue for the roller coaster wasn't long at all. They were seated in no time. Peter took a seat next to Alice leaving Boris to ride behind them.

With a smile, the White rabbit told her, "As the two of us are paired, you can hold me if you're scared."

Alice pretended to ignore him, waiting for the ride to start (and end). She was still feeling mildly embarrassed about their last meeting. She cast a glance up at him and noticed he was still smiling at her. She tried to stifle a smile back, diverting her attention back to the track in front of her.

Like a sigh of relief, the train started to move. She gripped the hand rail instinctively, watching the world go by. The ride picked up speed and she felt a scream rising in her chest as the carriage shot down its first dip. The second dip wasn't far behind, following by a lot of twisting and turning. The train corkscrewed its way along the track, and Alice refused to relinquish the cold metal hand rail in favor of Peter's arm. She argued with the voices in her head, adrenaline pumping through her body. After one final drop, she let out a scream. The ride, or the internal conflict? She'd never know. The train slowed down, and relief coursed through her as the train pulled into the drop off point.

"That was fun!" Peter declared.

Alice was shaking from head to foot, her nerves still on fire from the adrenaline burst.

"I want another ice cream." Boris skipped off to the ice cream vendor, leaving them standing there.

"That's not a bad idea," Alice said, her voice barely audible. She followed after her friend, Peter following behind her.

"I wouldn't mind one myself!"

Alice mumbled to herself. This was turning into a long day...


	5. Chapter 5

**Ooh, a bit shorter than the last one. I'm running a bit dry on ideas now, sat here at my computer at twenty past midnight preparing this to submit in the morning. I'll be off to bed soon to formulate more ideas. I know where I'm going, it's the getting there that bothers me!**

**Anyway, this chapter was a lot of fun to write. I'll say this again - I love Boris! He is so much fun to play around with. Obviously in small bursts, he'd be a bit too much in large quantities! I hope you enjoy this next bit. It should keep you going while I write out what I hope to be the next biggest part of the plot!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>The three of them were sitting on a park bench enjoying ice creams. It really was a beautiful day. The sky was almost clear, just the odd cloud occasionally hiding the sun allowing people to cool down for a moment before caressing them with its rays again. Boris had almost completely dried off, much to his relief. Alice was also feeling somewhat drier, and also somewhat uncomfortable as Boris had insisted she sit in the middle to stop Peter fighting over her. She was reluctant to look at the White Rabbit, continuously fighting the urge to glance up at him. She'd become fascinated by his long ears and was caught off guard earlier when he caught her staring. She hadn't even noticed she'd been doing it, and had quickly looked away.<p>

_Well THAT didn't look suspicious! _She'd told herself.

They were all sat in silence, Boris because his mouth was preoccupied by a triple scoop ice cream, Peter because he seemed deep in thought, and Alice simply because she no longer wanted to be there.

_Just leave! _However, she was still going through that phase of giving herself very good advice, but very seldom following it. Instead she watched the ride in front of them for what felt like the fiftieth time (it probably was) as it rose into the air slowly, and plummeted back down to earth like a bullet, causing an eruption of screams, yells and cheers from its passengers.

"Which ride shall we go on next?"

The speaker was Boris, and Alice looked around at him. He was licking a colorful mixture of ice cream off his hands, his eyes closed in contentment.

_Did he inhale it? _Alice looked back at her ice cream, now dribbling down the side of her cone towards her lap. She licked at it to prevent its otherwise inevitable fall.

"I don't plan to go on another ride," She told him. "After I've finished my ice cream I'm going to visit Blood."

Boris stopped his grooming to look at her. "Oh, I thought we were having fun."

"I _have_ had fun," Alice assured him. "But I had prior plans."

"In all fairness, may I be clear, I think the Hatter may be here."

Alice almost spun in her seat to face Peter. "What?"

Peter nodded. "As I headed here today, I saw Blood Dupre on the way."  
>Alice withheld the urge to slam her ice cream onto the rabbit's head. "Why didn't you <em>say<em> anything? You know how much I need to talk to him!" _Oh sod it. _She launched her ice cream at the Prime Minister, but he dodged out of the way flashing one of his nervous smiles.

"Alice, I never got chance."

"You had plenty of chances!" She stood up. "For example, while we were sat _here_ in _silence_!"

Boris jumped onto the seat cutting Alice off from the White Rabbit. "Why do you need to speak to Blood so badly?"

Alice caught Peter's eye over the intervening and somewhat nosey cat. "Hang on." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the ball of wool. Boris's eyes lit up and she launched the wool over the bench, Boris following after it with a gleeful yell. She turned her attention back to Peter.

"I'm sorry Alice, really." He blushed slightly.

Alice shook her head. "Well if he's here, I guess I should find him." She marched away from him, with a mission to search the entire park.

"I'd poke a guess he's at the new ride."

She sighed. Would he ever leave her alone? "Why are you following me, Peter?"

"You can't find a needle in a haystack alone."

She looked around at the Amusement Park. He was right. The park was crammed today, a combination of the glorious weather and a brand new ride. Her search felt hopeless.

"Are you sure he's here Peter? You're not just tricking me?"

"Alice!" He gasped. "I would never do such a thing!"

She fixed him with a wicked stare. "The potion, Peter?"

"What about it?"  
>"You told me if I drank it you'd let me go home."<p>

"And I did!" He beamed.

"There was still a catch." She looked back at the mass of people, searching faces. Her first clue would be that he _had_ a face, unlike the majority of Wonderland. Peter hadn't technically lied when he gave her the potion, so on some level she guessed she could trust him. "Fine, help me look."

They marched through the park, taking their time to check the people they passed. Surely if Blood saw Alice he'd stop and address her. Unless he was in a bad mood, in which case he'd point blank ignore her.

"Why didn't you visit him yesterday?" Peter asked her.

"I didn't get chance," She sighed. "I went to the mansion, but he was out on business here. The Twins roped me into playing with them. By the time I left, it was too late." The last bit was a lie, she knew. But there was no way she was telling him the truth... that she'd wandered back to the garden...

"And you didn't come to the Amusement Park?" He cast her a skeptical glance. "It sounds like you're procrastinating."

"Well it isn't my fault! Everyone keeps distracting me!"

Peter shook his head slowly. "People may distract you, but the will is in your own hands, Alice."

She gritted her teeth and looked away from him. She hated it when he was right.

"Are you scared, Alice?"

She faltered for a moment, as something clicked in her mind. Something she'd been denying came into clear realization. She'd been nervous, she'd admitted that. But scared... of course she was scared. She was terrified. She swallowed hard, trying to clear the image of the worst case scenario that had started to form in her mind's eye. She looked nervously up at the White Rabbit.

"Yes."

Peter nodded and looked away from her, checking the faces in the crowd as they passed by. "That's understandable to be fair, a Mafia Boss has a dangerous air."

They walked in silence for a moment, Alice once again formulating in her mind what she would say to Blood. She occasionally felt Peter watching her, which didn't do much good for her already fragile nerves. She snapped out of her internal nightmare to cast a glance over some passing crowds. She wondered how many she'd missed.

"To be honest, Peter, I'm scared he'll get angry and kill me." It was as though the voice wasn't hers. The words just flew out of her mouth as though projected by some internal being, taking her quite by surprise. Her hand flew up to her mouth, and she nibbled on one of her fingernails. A nervous habit her sister used to scold her for.

Peter looked down at her, his scarlet eyes gentle despite their vivid coloring. "Alice... I worry about that also."

Alice sighed and lent against the wall of a burger joint, tired, hot and bothered. The more she searched for Blood, the more nervous she became. And the more unlikely it felt that she would find him. Peter stopped near her, keeping an eye on the passing customers.

"To be honest Alice, that's why I'm here." He turned to look at her, giving her a warm smile. "I'll worry less if I stay near."

She met the White Rabbit's eyes, his words creating a warm fuzzy feeling inside her. He cared enough to make sure she was safe while she went to speak to Blood... but... how did he know she would be here? At the same time?

She opened her mouth to ask, when a figure caught her eye. Just behind a group of chattering visitors was the familiar hat of Blood Dupre. And he was staring right at her. His fierce eyes flew to Peter, then back at Alice. He spun on his heel, his jacket billowing out behind him as he vanished into the crowds.

Alice ran after him, pushing past people who stepped into her path. But it was too late, she'd lost him. She stopped in her tracks, people swarming past her, their voices now a lot louder than they had been just seconds earlier. Her eyes traced frantic patterns amongst the faces, desperate to pick out the one she was searching for. It was hopeless. She turned around and slumped back towards the burger joint, where she was relieved to find Peter was still waiting for her, his hand waiting anxiously by the giant pocket watch at his side.

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><p>Blood lent back on the solid lamp post – arms folded – watching Alice as she spun on the spot trying to find him amongst the busy crowds. He knew she'd be frolicking about here with her male companions, but he was alarmed to see she was with that rabbit. The one she so claimed to hate; her 'kidnapper', 'stalker', 'pervert'. So that's what she'd been doing these past few days? Refusing to see him, milling about with her male playthings. He continued to watch her as she gave up her search and headed back towards Peter. He shook his head and turned away. That was it, she had to go. And her new lover too.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

**Arghhhhhhh it's 1.30 in the morning! *dies* I've slaved over this and I've tried to make it perfect! Considering I won't get chance to write tomorrow (unless I'm rather persistent and write at this hour once more) I was pretty desperate to get it written up and submitted. I've had this idea since I first came up with this little story. I've been thinking about it over and over trying to get the theme right. And I type it up - and make changes! I don't know, it just feels more natural this way. So, after four hours of persistence... here is Chapter 6.  
><strong>

**I hope you like it. Epic chapter is EPIC! By the time I'd finished it, it's turned out to be just over four pages long. The other chapters were around 2-3. I felt they were rather short - compared to the length of chapters I write into my novels. But I wanted to give this story to you in small bite sized bursts so as not to overwhelm. However - this works as one chapter (I thought about chopping it into two but that would just be MEAN)**

**Anyway, enough of my incessant rambling. I should get to bed! Please enjoy!**

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><p>Alice cast one more glance over the crowd in search of Blood. Nothing. With a sigh, she turned back to Peter.<p>

"I should go... it's getting late and I need to stop by the store to pick up some bits for Julius."

Peter nodded. "I did not like the look in Blood Dupre's eye. I'll escort you home perchance danger is nigh."

Alice shuffled a foot on the floor, taking one more look around. She didn't like that look either – accusing and wicked. She had an awful feeling in her gut that her problems were only just beginning. "Okay..."

Peter tapped her on her arm to usher her away and escorted her out of the Amusement Park. She felt a little bad that she hadn't got the opportunity to say farewell to Boris. He was no longer by the park benches, and neither was the ball of wool. She wondered how much time had passed since she saw him. A glance up at the sky showed the sun had moved, about to set. It felt like it had been a very long day, which it probably had.

As they passed through the gates, it felt like a relief to be away from all the crowds. The noise became a much more pleasant decibel and the air felt fresher. She took a deep breath, cleansing all the negativity from her body.

"If I had stayed in there any longer, I may have developed claustrophobia," She said.

"It was a little stifling." He looked at her, a worried glint in his eye. "Alice... I really didn't like the way Blood looked at you. And I'm rather worried."

"That makes two of us."  
>He sighed. "You really should have let me deal with him the other day."<p>

"I told you Peter," She growled. "Killing is _not_ the answer."

"At least you would be safe and sound, without the Mafia Boss around."

She sighed. She would feel safer, "But there are other ways."

Peter nodded. "Believe me, Alice, if it comes to it, I will exert these 'other ways'."

"I appreciate you helping me Peter... but don't do anything silly."

"Alice...," He turned to look at her again. "I love you more than words can say. I'd give my life for you without delay."

Her eyes snapped to meet his. She thought her heart had stopped. She raised her hand to her chest unconsciously to check. "Peter..." It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her, however she knew he was serious. "Peter, that's silly. Your life is more valuable than that."

"Not to me."

She looked away from him, biting her tongue to stop herself from snapping. Just like everyone else, he thought the same. Life is just something to throw around regardless of all odds.

"Yours is more valuable than mine. I couldn't live if you weren't here."

Her stomach was doing funny flops inside her. Part of her wanted him to stop talking, the other part thought he was being very sweet.

"My life would have no meaning."

She looked up at him again. He was looking at the ground, his hands clasped behind his back. His ears were drooping slightly. She sighed and looked away from him. She didn't like to see him sad. She didn't like to see _anyone_ sad. She just wanted to cheer them up.

But what could she say to him? Words failed her.

She looked up to see where they were. Almost at the store...

"Peter, you're very sweet." She cast him a small smile. "I like you when you're being yourself... and not all intense and creepy."

His eyes widened so much she feared they might fall out of his head. "Really? You... you _like_ me?"

She laughed, a small tinkling sound that made the atmosphere feel a lot more positive. "Of course."

He smiled down at her and stopped walking, holding open a door. "After you."

Alice looked up at the balding. The store. She hadn't even noticed they'd reached it! _Oh Alice, where is your head?_

She entered the store and quickly picked up the parts for Julius. When they left, it was late into sunset.

"The time in this place still takes me by surprise."

"You'll soon get used to it," Peter told her. He nudged her gently towards the Clock Tower. "Though getting into a routine is practically impossible."

Alice clutched the box to her chest and they continued the rest of the journey in silence. By the time they reached the Clock Tower, little stars were beginning to dot the sky.

Peter looked down at her. "You need your rest, Alice."

She nodded and reached for the door. "Thank you for bringing me home."

He smiled at her. "So long as you are safe, that's all that matters." He looked up at the Clock Tower. "I trust you are safe with Julius."

She nodded again and opened the door. "Good night Peter, be careful walking home."

"I always am."

She gave him another smile before closing the door. As she turned around she was greeted by a very skeptical looking Julius.

"I thought you went to see Blood."

"I tried," She told him. "He was at the Amusement Park... our paths didn't cross." She placed the box down on the table.

"So... you hung out with Peter?"

"And Boris." She turned to go upstairs. "I need to get some sleep. You do too."

"I'll go when I've finished this batch."

Alice nodded at his typical response and headed upstairs to bed. Despite the buzzing of recent events swirling around her head, she managed to fall asleep no sooner had her head touched the pillow.

* * *

><p>"Well well..."<p>

Alice looked up at Nightmare. He was giving her a knowing look that seemed to penetrate her soul.

"Nightmare!" She smiled, feeling like a child who had done something very wrong. "I haven't seen you in a while."

He closed his eyes and smiled. "Yet I've been watching you quite closely. You can't seem to catch a break can you?"

She sighed. "You're talking about Blood, aren't you?"

He nodded. "A doomed relationship. It was inevitable really."

"How come you never said anything?"

He shrugged. "I'm not to intervene. It's not for me to decide. You have free will, use it."

"Well, what am I to do? He's not happy at all."

"Clearly."

"I've tried desperately to talk to him, Nightmare. But..."

"You got distracted." It sounded more like an accusation than a plain statement.

She nodded. "Yes, I admit I did. But I tried!"

"You still need to talk to him, or things are just going to get messy." Nightmare examined his fingernails briefly before turning back to Alice. "You also need to iron out your feelings."

She stared up at him. What was he getting at? "My feelings at the moment are just nerves, fear and confusion."

Nightmare nodded slowly. "You need to figure out what the confusion is masking."

Alice continued to stare up at him, trying to make sense of his words. "What... what do you mean?"

"I mean Alice," He smiled at her. "I think you need a little jolt."

Alice sat bolt upright in bed, her heart beating at a million miles an hour. Had she fallen? She didn't recollect falling... she dropped backwards into her mattress. Clearly one of Nightmare's bad jokes.

* * *

><p>Peter trudged back towards Heart Palace, reluctantly leaving the Clock Tower behind. He was worried to the point of nausea. If Blood hurt Alice... he'd kill him. His clockwork heart ached at the thought of upsetting Alice. She didn't like the idea of killing, that's why he'd stopped shooting the soldiers and maids that worked at the Palace. He wanted her to be happy. He also wanted her to be <em>safe<em>.

That look in Blood's eye... he'd seen it before. It was the look he gave when he had a plan to kill. He didn't care about Alice's feelings towards harming others, he didn't care about the value of life – not like Alice did. Peter would probably never understand why she valued life so highly. He just assumed it was because in her world, hearts can't be fixed like the clocks of Wonderland.

And Blood had already threatened to kill Alice. He suspected on more than one occasion... her answer wasn't exactly insightful. He shook his head. Blood was trouble. He'd tried to warn her away from him before. If only she'd listened to him at the ball and not gone to chase after the Hatter. She was persistent and passionate, he loved that about her. But it got her into trouble.

His ears pricked up. Someone was moving towards him. Quickly. Deliberately. He side stepped into the bushes and strained his eyes in the darkness to pick out the approaching shape. The trademark top hat of the Hatter... Blood...

His gun was drawn, held at his side. His eyes focused on the Clock Tower not far ahead of him.

Peter swallowed hard and looked over his shoulder. If he ran, he could get there much faster than Blood and warn Alice. He glanced back at the approaching Mafia Boss and bolted, keeping himself behind the bushes and in the shadows, out of sight. He felt like his legs wouldn't move fast enough, and the bushes were being merciless about tripping him up and slowing him down. By the time he reached the Tower he was out of breath.

He stared up at Alice's bedroom window. The front door would be pointless. No one would answer at this hour, and even if they did, Blood might see him. He'd notice the door opening, the light leaking out. He had to be inconspicuous. He eyed the trellis leading up the wall. It looked sturdy enough.

Testing the framework with one foot, and reassuring himself it would hold him, he scaled the wall as swiftly as he could. Climbing wasn't exactly in his job description, and being a rabbit, heights weren't favorable...

_Just don't look down..._

* * *

><p>"Alice... Alice..."<p>

Sleepily, Alice looked up from her pillow. Was someone trying to talk to her? Because she wasn't talking to Nightmare after that little stunt. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the window. Someone was there!

"Alice..."

"Peter!" She reached for a cup and threw it at him.

He dived out of the way, landing hard on the floor. The cup whizzed out of the window and into the night.

"_What_ are you doing in my room?" She was on her feet now, marching over to him.

"Alice, wait. I have to warn you-"

A machine gun went off outside, splintering wood. The front door flew open, echoing up the stairs. It was followed by deliberate footsteps resounding off the wooden surface of the stair case.

"Blood is on his way here..." Peter finished pathetically.

Alice felt her skin crawl as she watched her bedroom door, an awful metallic taste rising in her throat and coating her mouth. She leapt backwards, clutching Peter's arm as the door flew open. Blood pointed his gun right at her, his eyes taking in the scene.

He shook his head slowly. "What do I see here?" He looked at Peter, then back at Alice. "I dare say I'm not surprised. You really are something, Alice Liddle."

"Put the gun down, Blood." Peter had his own gun pointed at the Hatter.

"Oh, it doesn't matter which one of you I kill first." He aimed his gun at the White Rabbit. "The result will be the same."

"You can't kill an outsider," Peter told him. "It's against the rules."

"Right now, rabbit, I couldn't care less." He pulled the trigger, and Peter dived out of the way.

Alice screamed at them to stop, but it was pointless. She watched as Peter dived around the room, skillfully avoiding every shot Blood aimed at him. More shockingly, she noticed, Peter wasn't firing back.

"What's wrong, rabbit?" Blood mocked. "Too scared to fight back?"

Peter paused against a wall, and raised his gun in an arc bringing it down towards the Hatter's head. Just as swiftly, Blood bought his machine gun up to meet Peter's hand and the collision sent the rabbit's gun flying into the air, causing a pained yell. The gun bounced off the floor and fired blindly into the air. Peter clutched at his hand and looked up into the barrel of Blood's merciless gun.

"Stop!"

Alice picked up Peter's gun and aimed it at Blood.

"_I've never held a gun before."  
>"Do you want to fire it?<em>_" Boris smiled at her.  
>"No, I might hit someone... or worse... kill someone..."<em>

She rested her finger on the trigger. "Blood, stop!"

The Hatter glanced at her. "Leaping to his aid? You just continue to prove my point."

"Just leave, Blood! This is over!"

"It was over the minute I saw you in the park with this vermin." He looked back at Peter. "You're next Alice. Right after I kill your new plaything."

Peter fixed his furious red eyes on Blood's. "Do it."

"No!" Alice felt her hands shaking, fearing what Blood would do. If he fired now...

"Humble words. I guess you think just because you are in the Clock Tower, being fixed and replaced will be quite easy." Blood raised an eyebrow. "I know Vivaldi will be furious with me... for killing both you and Alice." He lowered his gun to hover over Peter's chest. "But I don't care. So long as you don't come back."

Alice closed her eyes as she prepared herself to squeeze the trigger.

"What's going on here?"

She opened her eyes. Julius was on the other side of Blood, his gun aimed at the Hatter's head.

"Breaking into my tower to kill! This is neutral territory and you know it. Get out!"

Blood spun his gun around to Julius, and fired over his shoulder creating tiny holes in the wall. Caught between two guns, he knew he wasn't at an advantage anymore. He spun away from the three of them and paused in the doorway, looking back at Alice.

"This is far from over."

He stormed down the stairs. There was a loud clatter and the sound of clocks shattering off the floor, then a slam as the door bounced off its frame.

Julius sighed, his gun returning to its form as his trusty spanner. "Well, sounds like I have some work to do." He looked back at Alice, who was still clutching Peter's gun, aiming it at the empty space where Blood was. "Are you okay, Alice?"

She nodded slowly, lowering the gun.

He looked at Peter who was now leaning against the wall staring blankly ahead.

"You were looking a little at a loss there, Peter."

He nodded. "I held out long enough to make sure Alice was safe... I waited until I could hear you on the other side of the wall."

Julius paused and eyed the White Rabbit carefully. "I don't need to know why you're here, but if you weren't... I imagine Alice would now be dead."

Peter looked at him. "I fear the same."

Julius nodded at him and left the room.

Alice slumped to the floor, letting out a low moan.

Peter knelt down in front of her and reached out gingerly to touch her arm. "Alice... are you okay?"

"Are you _stupid_?" She didn't look up at him, but she sensed him reel back slightly with the shock of her words.

"Alice..."  
>"Are you just that <em>stupid<em>?" She looked up at him, her eyes fierce, piercing his like hot daggers. "How can you just tell him to 'do it'?"  
>A look of realization washed over his confused face. "Oh..."<p>

"Do you not care? Is life just that worthless to you?"

"Alice... you don't understand..."

"I do understand!"

"You don't! You see... everyone in Wonderland has a replacement."

Alice shook her head, her eyes still furious. "Replacement? Do you really think that's good enough?" Tears started to well up in her eyes, and didn't hesitate to run down her face. "If you get replaced, you are no longer _you_!"

"But I _will _be me."

"No you won't!" She grabbed his arms and shook him. "You might well be the White Rabbit again, but you won't be _you_. You won't have your feelings, or your personality. You won't be _my_ Peter!"

The words were out before she could finish thinking them through. She paused, the shock of her own realization plain in her eyes. She looked up at Peter, her eyes meeting his in a way they hadn't before. She could still feel the tears running down her cheeks, flowing freely and silently. He looked as startled as she felt, but what she saw in those scarlet eyes made her stomach erupt butterflies straight into her chest. No one had ever looked at her like that, with so much love and adoration. He raised his hand to her face and wiped the tears off her cheek with his thumb. His touch was gentle, and she moved closer to him, feeling his warmth surround her as he pulled her into an embrace. She held him tightly, tears still falling from her eyes and soaking into his shirt.

"I don't want you to leave tonight."

He pulled away to look down at her. "Really?"

She nodded and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Not with Blood still out there..." She clutched his arms protectively, worried he would vanish at any second.

"Very well."

She sank back into his arms and he held her gently, running a hand through her hair. She rested her head against his chest, a warm fire burning in her stomach. Was this the jolt Nightmare had been talking about?

The ticking of his clockwork heart was soothing and familiar somehow. He gently stroked her hair, the tears stopping to make room for contentment. She didn't know how long they stayed like that, but she must have been dozing as his voice woke her up.

"Alice..."

"Hmm?"

"Do you mind if I take on my bunny form?"

"Why?"

"This just seems too good to be true."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 here! This took some thinking about, and a lot of it was made up as I went along. I'm happy with how it came out. I hope you are too! It's been a lovely sunny week over here so far, which always puts me in a creative mood. So I'm plowing through this at the speed of knot.**

* * *

><p>Alice woke slowly, firstly aware that she was feeling much better. Relief washed over her at the thought she was no longer with Blood. She no longer had to rush about trying to talk to him. Life would be infinitely better.<p>

Secondly, she became aware she was rather cold. She was certain something warm and soft was supposed to be curled up in her arms. She opened her eyes and looked down at the vacant space between her arms. The only evidence anything was there was the scattering of white rabbit hair which also clung to her night shirt.

Shrugging it off, assuming he was just in the bathroom, she lay back down her mind running over the events of last night. Peter had been adamant he was staying in his rabbit form, which had struck her as odd. It wasn't that long ago he was that desperate to be with her at night he'd gone from bunny to human while she was asleep. But something about him had changed recently. She liked him like this. He was pleasant to be around, no longer diving on her and almost breaking her spine. She found herself wondering how long it would last, if he was just treading eggshells around her while she was going through a difficult time. She also couldn't help denying she'd been a little disappointed he'd wanted to take on his rabbit form. As cute as he was with his little twitchy nose and cuddly-toy appearance she would have preferred him in his human form... _why, Alice, why?_

He had also answered a few questions for her about the events of the week that had left a warm fuzzy feeling in her stomach.

_"Peter, why were you at the theme park today exactly? You're normally at work."_

_ Peter looked up at her from her lap, his little nose twitching as he formulated her question. "An answer to that, may I abstain? In case you might hate me again."  
>She stroked his ears gently as she smiled at him. "I promise I wont hate you."<br>"Well," He scratched his head and glanced away from her. "I was there to protect you, Alice. From Blood."_

_ "How did you know Blood would be there? Or I, for that matter?"_

_ The rabbit looked up at her. "I invited him there."_

_ Alice raised an eyebrow. "You did? Why?"_

_ "I lured him there with a false letter, as being in a crowd for you was better."_

_ Alice's heart did a small flop. Peter had known she would go to the Amusement Park when she learned Blood was there. And he'd gone out of his way to make sure she was safe._

_ "And you were there both days?" She asked him._

_ He nodded. "My job that day was to keep you from harm, and should he point his gun it would raise alarm."_

_ He was right, Blood wouldn't have been so foolish as to cause chaos amongst all those people. He would be vastly outnumbered. She picked up the small rabbit and hugged him to her chest._

_ "Thank you, Peter."_

He had been very sweet. Every time Alice had gone to visit the Hatter she'd worried because she'd been alone. As much as she loved the Twins, they wouldn't have protected her against Blood. It would have meant harming their boss. Trust Peter to come up with some complex idea to keep her out of harm's way. She was more than glad she'd confided in him now. He'd shown her a side of him she'd never once expected to see.

She looked over at the door to her room. Where was he? She sat up and something on her bedside table caught her eye – a note. She picked it up and read it.

_Alice,_

_ Sorry to leave you this letter. I've gone to the Palace to alert Vivaldi to Blood's actions. He clearly stated this wasn't over, and I worry for your safety. Please stay in the Clock Tower. I'll be back later, after I've sorted out what to do with him._

_ He won't be killed, I won't allow it. I know what you think about murder, Alice, and I appreciate that. The Queen will know what to do._

_ See you soon,_

_ Peter xx_

Alice shook her head. That rabbit. If he thought she wasn't going to act, he was wrong. He didn't know Vivaldi and Blood were brother and sister. She would go and speak with The Queen herself.

She grabbed the nearest discarded dress and jumped into it, still fastening the bow behind her back as she raced down the stairs. Breakfast could wait, she had to catch up with Peter.

* * *

><p>He hated leaving Alice like that. But she was safe with Julius. He trusted the Clock Maker to look after her. He was capable enough. But he would much prefer Alice to be with him, safe at his side. Maybe that would happen soon? She'd shown she liked him last night.<p>

Peter raised a hand to his chest, fearing his clockwork heart would stop working. The thought of Alice in his arms had made it go almost into overdrive. He glanced back at the Clock Tower, small in the distance. He couldn't wait to get back there, to hold her again and tell her everything would be okay. Reluctantly, he continued his way towards Heart Palace. Vivaldi had a soft spot for Alice. He was sure she'd help her. Blood had violated several rules last night - attempted murder on neutral ground, attempting to kill an outsider, and smashing clock hearts. Peter was positive he'd at least be locked away for his actions.

He practically shook at the fact Blood really wanted to kill Alice. It was unspeakable. She was so sweet. What was his problem? If Alice were with _him_, he'd be happy she had other friends. He wouldn't be paranoid, he wouldn't threaten her, he wouldn't try to _kill_ her. That Hatter definitely had a screw loose somewhere. He clenched his fists, desperate to hurt Blood, but he wouldn't do it if he could help it. Alice might hate him if he did.

He marched through the Palace gates, the guards saluting him as he entered. He didn't acknowledge them, he never did. So long as they were there doing their job, that's all that mattered. He glanced around the castle grounds. On a sunny day like this, Vivaldi may be outside. She wasn't though. In fact, there was nobody outside. No guards, no maids... The castle grounds were barren.

"What's going on?" He crossed his arms momentarily assuming everyone was slacking off. Even the gardeners weren't gardening.

There was a disconcerting click behind him and he froze.

"Run rabbit run rabbit run run run."

There was no time to think. He swiftly ducked and rolled out of the way, snatching his watch from his side. He braced himself for a gunshot, but none came. Jumping to his feet, he pointed his own gun straight back at Blood Dupre.

The Hatter stood watching Peter, tapping his gun against his palm. "I was expecting you."  
>"Well, I wasn't expecting you." Peter didn't lower his gun, he kept it pointed straight at Blood's heart. "How did you infiltrate the Palace?"<p>

"Easy," Blood smiled at him. "You're men aren't all that well trained are they? Well... no surprise really considering there is such a high staff turnover." He stared at Peter's gun. "Courtesy of the death sentence in your hand I'll wager. Funny. I never thought Alice would go for the murderous types."  
>Peter bristled, pulling his ears back in defiance. "Speak for yourself!"<p>

Blood flashed him a wicked grin. "I'm going to have fun this time. And you have no one to leap in and protect you. I can add another clock to Julius's already high workload." He gestured around the empty courtyard. "Or maybe... I'll spare him just this one." He fired his gun.

Instinctively, Peter dived out of the way. His clock heart was now ticking wildly, clearly reflecting the rabbit in him. Sometimes, he really appreciated his quick reflexes.

"Come on, Peter," Blood fired again, missing his target by a hair's breadth. "Make this easy on yourself."

Peter dived out of the way of another bullet. He was right. He should make this easy on himself. He wouldn't kill Blood, but he could certainly wound him enough to incapacitate him for a while. He ducked and rolled, throwing off the Hatter's target, and fired his own gun, missing his shoulder but clipping his jacket's collar.

"Fighting back now are we?" Blood fired again, hitting the ground where Peter once was. "I knew you had it in you."

They exchanged shots, diving around the courtyard shouting taunts and insults. Gunshots echoed across the vast empty space causing a loud din, scaring birds from the trees. Peter ducked and rolled, avoiding shot after shot. After dodging so many, Peter was growing tired and the bullets were getting closer. He rolled out of the way of another shot which caught the tail of his coat. Blindly he fired back, rewarded with a sick thump. He looked up, shocked, bile rising in his throat. If he'd killed him...

Blood was clutching his gun arm with his free hand, blood dipping out between his fingers, his eyes filled with blood lust and fury. He stared at his foe, silence passing between them so thickly that Peter's ears were ringing wildly. Blood examined his bloodstained hand and cast the rabbit a hateful glare.

"Lucky shot." He aimed his gun at Peter. "I won't miss this time, rabbit."  
>"Onee-san! Onee-san!"<p>

"Peter!"

"Alice?" Peter's attention snapped to the gates.

Blood fired his gun.

Alice screamed.


	8. Chapter 8

**AND here is the final installment of my little fanfiction. Oooooooh sorry for the cliffhanger before XD I couldn't help myself. I've chugged through this little tidbit ironing out the creases and making it as perfect as I can. And - like always - I'm never happy with it. But as Neil Gaiman says "A novel is a piece of prose with something wrong with it." Anyway, thanks to the glorious sunny weather, my ever faithful iTunes library and Treat's inspiration with their song I'm Not Runnin' (Check it out!) and the namesake Paper Tiger, and of course all your kind reviews and encouragement, I've managed to get through it.**

**From a writer's perspective, I'm glad I wrote this. It's certainly filled that void the end of the manga left. Well... almost. I'll still be writing Alice/Peter stories for a little while I think so do expect to see more.**

**Thank you all again for sticking with this, it does mean a lot to me. I'm going to miss writing this story, it's been on my mind for the past week. In fact I was stuck in a permanent daydream - my friends were getting concerned! But it's finished now *Hugs fanfic* Enjoy this next and final chapter =D**

* * *

><p>Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Alice watched in pure horror as Peter fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. Her heart shattered in her chest and her knees buckled beneath her. She fell to the floor, not taking her eyes off the White Rabbit. She watched the blood seeping through the chest of his shirt, valuable life essence trickling away.<p>

"No..."

The Twins stood at her side, their halberds lowered.

"Onee-san?"

Blood gave a triumphant laugh as he turned to face Alice.

"Well, that's one down." He approached the young girl, still clutching his wounded arm. "Maybe I should let you despair some more? Or I could put you out of your misery now, your choice."

Alice looked up at him. "What is _wrong_ with you? Peter did nothing wrong."  
>Murderous fury still present in his eyes, he pointed his gun at her. "But you did!"<p>

"No!"

One of the halberds flew up, hitting the gun clean out of Blood's hand. It hit the ground behind him, firing blindly into the air.

"Leave Onee-san alone!"

The Twins stood facing their boss, their halberds pointed at his throat.

"Well, you two are definitely fired."

"I don't care!"

"You leave our Onee-san alone!"

"_What_ is going _on_ out here?"

Alice spun around, her eyes falling on the speaker. Vivaldi was marching towards them with a small number of guards behind her, Ace and Elliot at either side. She looked down at Peter as she passed him and stopped, looking from the fallen rabbit, to Alice then to Blood.

"Blood Dupre... The March Hare had told us you'd gone mad."

Blood stared wordlessly at The Queen, the Twin's halberds still pointed at his throat.

The Queen swept an arm around the empty courtyard. "You've killed most of our guards, caused an outbreak of After Images, killed our Prime Minister, and now you are about to kill Alice... an outsider."

Blood looked away, a look of defeat washing over him.

"What do you have to say for yourself?"  
>"They deserved it."<br>"This is punishable by death, Blood Dupre," Vivaldi crossed her arms. "We have every right to remove your head." She looked down at Alice. "Come here, Alice, out of harm's way."

Alice didn't move. She looked at the ground, her eyes flooding with tears. She couldn't believe it. She wanted to wake up. She clutched her hands to her chest, wishing it was just a dream... just a bad dream and she'd wake up with Peter's small furry form still snuggled safely in her arms.

"Onee-san?" One of the twins looked down at Alice.

"You made Onee-san cry!"

"Arrest him!" Vivaldi called out.

Blood was taken away. Alice didn't see who by. She assumed the guards took him. She didn't care. She closed her eyes, tears hitting the floor, audible in the empty courtyard.

"Alice?" Vivaldi's voice was close to her ear. She felt a hand on her back. "Alice dear, he's gone now."

"I know." She sobbed heavily, leaning against the Queen. "Blood shot him."

"Your Highness?"  
>"What is it Ace?"<br>"After Image is pretty late. I think Peter may still be alive."

Alice looked up suddenly, almost headbutting the Queen. "Peter?"

Vivaldi stood up, releasing Alice. "Take him to the nurse."

Ace scooped the White Rabbit up in his arms and carried him towards the castle. Alice watched after him, her tears still falling freely, but a small ball of hope was glowing inside her. She stood up and ran to catch up with him.

* * *

><p>She paced up and down the corridor, anxiety flowing through her body, the tears still trickling down her face. She rubbed at her eyes again with a lace handkerchief Vivaldi had given her, now all red and puffy. Ace's words were still fresh in her mind.<p>

_"If we don't do something now, we're going to lose him."_

She'd let out a wail of despair as they turned her out of the doctor's room, clinging to Vivaldi, begging her to let her back in. They'd had to lock the door to prevent her entering. She'd cried heavily for half an hour, screaming at the nurses to do something, to save him.

After a while, she'd calmed down.

"Alice, do sit down," Vivaldi told her from a small chair. "You are making us dizzy."

Alice shook her head. "I can't..." She looked at the door to the nurse's room. "I want to know if he's okay..."

Vivaldi grabbed her hand as she passed her on another lap of the corridor. "Alice, we are sure he will be fine."  
>Alice looked at the door again, her small ball of hope shrinking. She knew Vivaldi was only trying to make her feel better, to feed that ball of hope. It was a close shot, she'd been told. They said if it was any closer to his heart, he'd have been dead on impact. And they assured her they'd do everything they could before ushering her out of the room. The thought of losing Peter made fresh tears run out of her eyes. She sobbed loudly, falling to the floor.<p>

"Alice..."

"It's all my fault," She cried. "Why? Why did I have to tell him everything, why?"  
>She felt an arm around her shoulder as Vivaldi moved to sit beside her.<p>

"He clearly wanted to help you Alice. Think of it this way, if you didn't tell him anything, things might have been a lot worse."  
>Alice rubbed tears from her eyes again, but more took their place. "They also might have been a lot better."<br>The door opened and the nurse walked out, a sad look on her face. She shook her head as she approached them.

Alice looked up at her. "He's...?"

"It doesn't look good," The nurse told them. "We've done all we can but... there's some clock damage. If he makes it through the night, he'll be okay but... until then..."  
>Alice felt her own heart break, that glow of hope fading to nothing. She let out another wail of despair and fell into Vivaldi's lap.<p>

"Oh Alice, dear," She told her, stroking her hair. "There's still hope."  
>"I need to see him," She told her, sitting up. "Please, let me in."<p>

Vivaldi looked up at the nurse, passing a mental message between them, and the nurse nodded. The Queen ushered Alice to her feet. She put the handkerchief into her pocket as she almost ran to the door.

"Just be careful," The nurse told her.

Alice closed the door behind her and approached the bed. If she hadn't known any better, she'd guessed he was just sleeping. She expected him to wake up at any minute, and bounce on her in that annoying way he used to. In fact, she _wanted _him to do that. Anything to make this just not true. She looked down at him and tears welled up in her eyes again, running down her face.

"Peter, I'm so sorry," She told him. "I wish I'd just left you out of this."

She got no response, but she wished he had one. She leant on the bed and took his hand.

"You were there for me when I needed you," She told him. "You didn't ask to be. I bought you into all this and... you were surprisingly helpful." She tried not to laugh at her remark. She squeezed his hand. "I never realized I needed you, Peter. You really helped me. You gave me more than just a friend. If it wasn't for you, I would probably be dead." She stroked his hair back out of his face. She'd often realized how handsome he was, and right now the sight of him made her heart ache. "I do need you," She sobbed. "You can't be taken from me this easily." She choked the words out, tears falling freely from her eyes onto the bed quilt.

She reached into her pocket for the handkerchief, but her hand fastened around something else. She pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. When she examined it, she realized it was the paper tiger. Her heart almost stopped. She'd forgotten it was in there... Unconsciously, she tried to smooth it out. She placed it on the table next to his bed, and it stood wonky, looking rather worse for wear on three legs.

_Life is fragile. It can be taken so easily. And if I were to crush this little paper tiger now, then straighten it out again, it would never look the same. It might be the same, but it's not a perfect example of what it once was. It's not the same tiger._

She wiped her eyes with the handkerchief, staring at the paper tiger. It wasn't true. She wasn't going to _let_ it be true. She sat on the floor, leaning against the bed.

"Please don't die..."

She burst into fits of tears, sobbing those words over and over, as though those words alone had the power to save him.

"Please don't fret... I'm not dead yet."

Her sobs caught in her throat and she turned around, propping herself up on the edge of the bed. The White Rabbit looked at her with one ruby eye and smiled.

"Peter!" She grabbed his hand and held it to her face, smiling down at him. "I thought I'd lost you..."  
>"Alice," He gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "I'd never leave you. I love you."<p>

Alice sobbed again and kissed his hand. "I love you too."

* * *

><p>Vivaldi stamped the form for Blood's imprisonment. His offenses – attempted murder of the Prime Minister, breaching the rules of neutral ground, and attempting to kill an outsider. Amongst other offenses – breaking clocks, breaking and entering, rampage... A good few decades in a dungeon ought to see him straight.<p>

The door to her throne room opened.

"Ah Peter! We trust you are well?"  
>"Just dismissed this morning," The White Rabbit smiled.<p>

"Well," Vivaldi smiled back at him. "It's great to see you back on your feet. Courtesy of ourselves, we will grant you a couple of weeks more recovery time. Go enjoy yourself... carefully."

"Are you sure, Your Highness? I'm happy to come back to work."  
>Vivaldi smiled. "We think someone else would rather spend a little time with you, after that shock."<p>

Peter looked behind him. Alice was standing in the doorway waiting for him. He smiled at her.

"Go on you two." Vivaldi ushered them from her room. "We are quite busy and do not need disturbing."  
>Peter bowed and left the room. He took Alice's hand and they wandered into the courtyard.<p>

"Where would you like to go?" She asked him. "Amusement Park?"

"The Amusement Park would be grand, but I have somewhere better planned." He led her around the side of the Palace through a tangle of rose bushes and out into a sunlit garden full of colorful flower beds and dainty trees. He stopped under one of the trees and sat down, where they were shaded from the hot rays of the sun. "A little place I now hold dear, from when I had my Alice here."

Alice sat beside him, her hand still nestled in his. She gazed out across the garden, now more beautiful than she remembered it. The scene filled her with happiness and contentment just like last time. She was sure it wasn't just the garden though. There was much more to the feeling than that.

"You know, I never thought I would say this, Peter, but I am very glad you bought me to Wonderland."

"I'm glad to be of service."

She looked at the White Rabbit, the sunlight streaked across his hair. He looked back at her and smiled.

"You are very beautiful, Alice, with a heart so pure," He brushed her hair back out of her face. "The most beautiful thing in this garden for sure."  
>Alice thought her heart might flutter out of her chest. No one had ever spoken to her like that. She moved closer to him, a hand moving up behind one of his ears where she twined her fingers into his soft hair. She felt him trail a hand down to the small of her back, gently pulling her closer. Her eyes met his, her heart beating so quickly she was sure he could hear it.<p>

"I love you, Peter." Her voice was barely a whisper.

He closed his eyes and caught her lips with his, kissing her slowly. She returned his kiss, small butterflies dancing around in her stomach. He pulled away from her reluctantly, and rested his forehead on hers.

"I love you too... more than you'll ever know."  
>She kissed him again, more passionately this time. Her heart sang in her chest as Peter wrapped both his arms around her and ran his fingers through her hair. She had never been so happy to be here. She had no idea Wonderland could be so wonderful.<p>

**xxx**


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